The Prompt: How did economic, geographic, and social factors encourage the growth of slavery as an important part of the economy of the southern colonies between 1607 and 1775? Translating my comments: “Dulp” or “Dvlp” = develop “Dulpmt” or “Dvlpmt” = development A with circle = analysis Triangle = change Triangle ‘d = changed “god” = is actually good written too fast! AWK =awkward It’s in the DETAILS: lots of good ideas that went undeveloped. For example, don’t just write about tobacco, but write of all the crops grown in the southern colonies & write the names of specific colonies.
Ideas not Linked to the Prompt: so many potentially good points, but then they weren’t clearly linked to the prompt. A common example was writing about the fertile soil & rivers and stating how that enabled a productive cash-crop agricultural economy …but not linking it directly to the growth of slavery. Instead, continue this analysis of the geography by stating that the crops which grew so well in this land were labor intensive and demanded a large work force to effective plant, grow, & harvest these crops, which slavery could provide.
Further, write about how the southern colonies had a similar hot, humid climate as West Africa (not just Africa –which is a BIG, diverse continent, you goofs who just wrote ‘Africa’), the region from which most slaves came. Generalizations: lots of misleading and inaccurate statements because of oddball generalizations. I’m guessing (or hoping! ) that many of these occurred because of the stress of writing a timed essay. But, for the record, here are some examples of generalizations which you should avoid: -“Indentured servitude ended” (No, it severely declined; it was still around during the Rev’l War) “All the Indians died from disease” (No, there are still tribes on the East coast today! Yes, lots died from disease, but others fought colonists in wars or moved away beyond the reach of colonists). Follow the Prompt: Look closely at what the prompt requires you to do. Many essays didn’t included the notion of showing change over time (1607-1775) that “the growth of slavery” required. Some Finer Points: ?Some essays compared the South to New England. The prompt didn’t ask for that, so don’t do it. ?Lots of essays mentioned the Las Casas quote (4 indians=1 african), but not with PURPOSE.
It’s a powerful quote that was mentioned & left hanging. Instead, show how this quote demonstrated the long-held racist preconceptions about the value of Africans as a “hardy” and “suitable” labor force. Some Content Clarification: ?Southern slaveowners didn’t go to Africa to get slaves. Traders came to Southern ports (like Charleston, SC) to sell their human cargo …which was often first ‘sorted’ at a port in the West Indies. ?Servitude is NOT the same as slavery. Don’t use the terms interchangeably. Slavery implies a sense of permanency & ownership that servitude does not.
There were white indentured servants, but not white slaves. ?Slaves weren’t cheap & slaveowners DID care if slaves died. Slaveowners took basic (minimal! ) care of slaves because if the slaves died then owners would lose their investment. Slaves became cheapER, but not cheap; MORE affordable for the wealthy, but NOT affordable (only the very wealthy southerners could afford slaves). ?The headright system was NOT an indentured servitude system, but a land distribution system established in early colonial VA & MD (remember MD, no one wrote of MD as an example of a southern colony ? in order to bring more land into production so that the colonies would make a greater profit. The headright system wasn’t linked to slavery. ?Bacon’s Rebellion was NOT by indentured servants. Instead, poor whites (many of whom were formerly indentured servants) led this rebellion. Nonetheless, Bacon’s was a great piece of evidence to include in order to show the shift away from indentured servitude & toward African slavery in the late 17th century. ?“the South” is NOT the same as the southern colonies. The South is a BIG, regionally & climatically diverse area; the southern colonies were confined to a much smaller geographic area.
Here’s a list of info that could have been included in this essay Plantation system Trans Atlantic slave trade Triangle trade Middle passage Cash crops Slaves’ knowledge of rice cultivation Infant industrial revolution Indigo, rice, tobacco Royal African Company (1698) John Rolfe Mercantilism Indentured servants Jamestown Climate of southern colonies Malaria/smallpox Falling tobacco prices Caribbean/West Indies connection Topography Resistance to disease Charleston as key port Racism Inability to appeal to gov’t Failure to enslave Indians Slave codes (Barbados)
VA Statute of Fornication (“…status of mother”) Race separation & regulation laws Stono Rebellion & Negro Act (1739) Bacon’s Rebellion (1676) Headright system Mortality rates Class divisions Religious justification for social inequality Money/profits! Changing economic conditions in England Thesis In Depth: Here are some of that weren’t good. Look at WHY each isn’t a strong thesis. ?In Southern states slavery exploded from 1607-1775 due to the economic, social, and geographical positioning because landowners wanted to exploit cheap labor to make a large profit. they weren’t states yet; needs to work more closely with social; too narrow focus & therefore a lot of key info is left out; no sense of GROWTH of slavery] ? During the time period between 1607 and 1775 economic, geographic, and social factors aided the growth of slavery in the southern colonies. Out of these three factors the economic reasons are what most heavily pushed these colonies to use slavery. [takes a stand/makes an argument, but is too vague b/c the factors are qualified/developed at all] ?
Between 1607 and 1775 the economy of the southern colonies was based on Tobacco and Rice, these crops made slavery increasingly important because they are very labor intensive to grow. Geographic features, such as the size of each plantation, made slavery more important because the plantations were to large for the owners to work themselves. Slavery grew in importance socially because slaves were the bottom run of the social ladder, it would not be meet for plantation owners to work their own land, especially with a plentiful number of slaves available. this is just a string of sentences w/no analysis showing growth & any inter-relationship among the 3 factors; it’s more than 2 sentences; the social part is ‘after the fact’ & doesn’t show why slavery grew, but rather why southern plantation owners liked slavery. ] Here’s some that were good. Examine WHY they are good. ?During the time period of 1607 and 1775, the southern colonies had a necessity for a labor force as a result of their cash crop economy; when the colonies were first founded indentured servants were the answer to these labor shortages.
The indentured servants created the beginnings of what was to become a very socially stratified aristocracy, yet once the indentured servants’ contracts expired there was a gap left socially and in labor; this led to the increased importation of African slaves, it was also an advantage to the southern colonists because the African slaves came from a similar geographical climate and as a result had built up immunities to possible disease of that climate and were a better investment. Between 1607 and 1775, slavery in the southern colonies became an increasingly important and commonplace practice because of intensification of tension between classes and races, colonists’ reliance on a labor-intensive economy was amplified, and planters looked towards slavery as a solution to labor problems in regions ill-suited for indentured servitude. [this one is good, but only marginally deals with geographic factors; it would be stronger if that aspect was more pronounced] ?
While the idea of indentured servitude was morally appealing to southern colonies, between 1607 and 1775 southern colonies became dependant upon life-long slaves for economic sustenance and profit because African slaves were more abundant than white servants, they lacked a common social background, and they had a more developed immunity to extreme climates and diseases due to their native environments.
